Halloween

[gavroche]

What exactly is Halloween about? Apart of course from yet another American concept of pure commercialism. There is only one good thing worth celebrating on October 31st..... my birthday.

 

[Tin Pot]

What exactly is Halloween about?

Money.

 

[DRM]

It's the eve before all Hallows day, when in pre christian times people believed that the veil between the world of the dead and that of the living was at it's thinnest and they would remember their ancestors, it's known as dias del muertos in Mexico(day of the dead),lots of other cultures have similar beliefs on this date, the Americans have taken the concept and turned it into dragging kids round trick or treating, it's an important day in the pagan calendar called samhain.
Oh and happy birthday for the 31st,

 

[Tin Pot]

What exactly is Halloween about? Apart of course from yet another American concept of pure commercialism. There is only one good thing worth celebrating on October 31st..... my birthday.

Ah, read whole post now.

All Hallows' eve is the night before all saints day (celebrating the saints), then All Souls' Day (acknowledging those in purgatory) or something like that.

I think it's become blended with the celebration/remembrance of the dead (generically not specifically) as in Dia de los Muertas, Day of the Dead you see abroad.

There probably some Celtic crap in their too.

 

[Markymark]

The kids enjoy it.

 

[Aperitif]

Turnips.

I used to have turnips on my school trousers.

 

[Tin Pot]

Turnips.

I used to have turnips on my school trousers.

Fascinating.

And what about Halloween?

 

[Aperitif]

Fascinating.

And what about Halloween?

Fascinating indeed. Maybe if I spell the link out in longhand it is easier, sorry.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...ens-roots-and-carve-a-turnip-charity-suggests

 

[Vapin' Joe]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
.
it is a major event in Ireland, big bonfires, party games such as apple bobbing, barnbrack cake with a coin for luck, colcannon for dinner...traditionally a turnip was used instead of a pumpkin, we never used either....
the catholic church added all saints day on Nov 1st, as they couldn't get rid of samhain..

edit..nothing to do with America...

Isn't it called All Soul's Night, when the dead are supposed to rise and walk the earth? I remember that when I was a child in County Cork in the fifties, myself and my cousins having the crap scared out of us when my mum and my aunt were telling us as we walked along a dark country lane.

 

[classic33]

Jack o'lanterns

 

[classic33]

other things which were popular in Ireland or at least in Dublin, was an apple on a rope, toffee apples, monkey nuts and wine apples (pomegranates) it was very fruit based....
we would collect wood and tyres for weeks in the build up and then stick a stolen car on the bonfire...

Ballymun!

 

[Beebo]

It is now bigger than bonfire night, when i was young in the 80s it was the other way round, but kids today have grown up with it, so just assume it is something we have always celebrated, even though it wasnt something i used to do when i was young.
My daughter even said today that the half term holiday is so we can celebrate halloween, which made me laugh.

It is just a bit of fun, nothing to be worried about. Where i live if you put a pumpkin on your door step you will get kids knocking, if you dont you wont. We tend to take the pumpkin in at 8pm, so the kids go to bed, and no one bothers us after that.

 

[Tin Pot]

It is now bigger than bonfire night, when i was young in the 80s it was the other way round, but kids today have grown up with it, so just assume it is something we have always celebrated, even though it wasnt something i used to do when i was young.
My daughter even said today that the half term holiday is so we can celebrate halloween, which made me laugh.

It is just a bit of fun, nothing to be worried about. Where i live if you put a pumpkin on your door step you will get kids knocking, if you dont you wont. We tend to take the pumpkin in at 8pm, so the kids go to bed, and no one bothers us after that.

A few years ago we started trick or treating with the kids, like you say, you don't get hassled if you don't have a pumpkin.

Nevertheless we banged on some doors and adults would stare at me blankly and say "what are we supposed to do?" like they'd never heard of Halloween.

Others go The Full Monty. Really. Like dismembered corpses on the lawn, zombies hanging out the window and giant inflatable Jack O'lanterns. They really can be impressive, if a little worrisome.

 

[RedRider]

The smell of candle-burned turnip evokes an apple-bobbing childhood for me too. I'd assumed that was a UK-wide thing and hadn't appreciated the Irish root.
Trick or treating and pumpkins were invented in 1978 by John Carpenter.

 

[classic33]

The smell of candle-burned turnip evokes an apple-bobbing childhood for me too. I'd assumed that was a UK-wide thing and hadn't appreciated the Irish root.
Trick or treating and pumpkins were invented in 1978 by John Carpenter.

Pumpkins were growing wild long before he arrived on the scene!